'Battlefield' maker EA misses quarterly bookings estimates on uncertain gamer spend

(Reuters) -Electronic Arts missed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter bookings on Tuesday, weighed down by uncertain spending on its core sports portfolio and difficult growth comparisons to a strong launch of "College Football 25" last year. The results are EA's first since announcing its decision to be acquired by a group of private investors, including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, for $55 billion. EA is betting heavily on its core action and sports titles to weather an uncertain gaming market marked by high console prices, and gamers sticking to proven franchises amid a highly competitive year-end period. EA launched "College Football 25" last year, reviving the franchise after a long hiatus and attracting strong spending from core fans, becoming one of the best-selling games. The take-private deal was announced just before EA was set to launch the latest installment in its best-selling "Battlefield" franchise, which went on to sell over seven million copies during the first three days. With "Battlefield 6" off to a strong start and close rival "Call of Duty" seeing player fatigue, investors are now focused on the game's long-term financial prospects as EA plans to release regular content updates to keep players engaged and spending. Some analysts expect "Battlefield 6" to sell over 15 million units in EA's fiscal 2026 and could even reach 20 million. EA said bookings for its prominent soccer title "FC 26" were up mid-single digits compared to the title's predecessor, despite some analyst warnings of softer performance. The company's second-quarter bookings fell 13% to $1.82 billion, compared with the average estimate of $1.88 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. The company reported net income of $137 million in the second quarter, compared with $294 million a year earlier. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Alan Barona)

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